Start of India women's tour of Australia delayed by two days, all matches to be staged in Queensland: Report
Aug 29, 2021
New Delhi [India], August 29 : India women's upcoming tour of Australis will now be staged in Queensland and the opening match of the series is set to be delayed by two days -- from September 19 to 21.
The upcoming tour of Australia will comprise three ODIs, one day-night Test match, and three T20Is.
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the opening ODI was originally slated for Sydney Oval but will now be played in Mackay due to the COVID-19 enforced restrictions.
As per the report, the lockdowns around Australia have resulted in the change of schedules and everything is pending for the final green light from the Queensland state government upon India women's team arrival.
The women's team will depart for Australia from Bengaluru on Sunday and then the entire squad will spend two weeks under mandatory quarantine.
Talking about the team's preparation for the Test, head coach Ramesh Powar on Saturday said: "I think we need to understand we are going to play ODIs first. World Cup [in February-March next year] is a very important tournament for us and we're focusing on that. If you see only the one-off Test, we can't go in with a mindset of preparing for that."
"I think it is about taking the one-day confidence into Test. In the last series, the way we came back, without our stars getting their rhythm, I'm confident that we don't have to prepare separately for the pink-ball Test. We back our players in the format, and they are good enough to react to the situation," he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, the All-India Senior Women's Selection Committee picked the squads for India Women's upcoming tour. Sneh Rana who gave spirited performances against England in the multi-format series earlier this year has found a place in all three squads.
